7/4, 5 & 6. Just back

DrummerBoy523

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Well, we survived. We stayed at RPR and had a wonderful time overall.

July 4 - UO & IOA. Got up at the crack of dawn and we were 2nd in line at our turnstile by 7:20. They actually opened the gates early - about 7:35/7:40 on Wednesday. We walked back to Diagon Alley and went straight to Gringott's. Walked right through and got on w/o any issues. Came out and had the run of the place for at least 90 mins. Went into Olivanders for the show - no wait. Bought wands, did spells, drank Butterbeer and then took the train over to IOA and milled around there - road Hippogriff and the Journey and then had lunch at 3 Broomsticks. Road HE back to UO. Rode F&F, Mummy, JF and HRRR before we decided to go back over to IOA and hit Hulk, Spiderman, Dudley, JurassicPark and Kong. Headed back to RPR. Overall - the crowds were very light. We were surprised that they couldn't do a big fireworks show though.

July 5 - Went to VB. Got there around 7:45 (EE was 730) and we rode the coaster and drop tube (amazing and scary), then hit the drop slides, racers and the three big raft slides in the back before the crowds showed up. Once 9:30/45 hit, the waits were already in the 60 min range. Absolutely loved the theming of this park but hated the TapuTapu queue. Not sure why you can't just wait "standby" in the lines - they really need a new system. We basically only rode 2 more "big" rides all day at 160 min waits. Crowds were very heavy. Went into IOA to see the Hogwarts show at 9:30 and then crashed.

July 6 - back to UO/IOA. Same as above. Gringotts was down for most of the morning which really screwed up our planning - we got there early and had nothing to do so we milled about and rode Minions, Shrek, MIB, ET, Mummy (again) before finally riding Gringotts. Took train over and road Journey again and we were wiped out. Started to rain heavy so we headed over to Kong area and ended up in the comic strip cafe for almost 90 mins waiting the storm out. Didn't look like the storm would end so we headed back to the resort to wait it out. Finally got back into the park and road Hulk one last time.

Fav Ride: Gringotts & Mummy. Kong was best simulator.
Least Fav: Fast & Furious. Really surprised how boring it was.

The resort - Royal Pacific was awesome. Pool much smaller than pictures show. Kids wish there was a water slide but they survived. Poolside bar/restaurant was good. Could have done w/o the DJ though. Surprised they didn't play appropriately themed music. I really don't want to hear Brittney Spears do it again when I'm at a south pacific themed pool LOL.

Overall - we decided we are a Disney family after this trip. Way too many simulators/3D rides. We all took Dramamine but my head is still swimming today. Will we do Universal again? Maybe in 3 or 4 years, but not any time soon.
 
We were the same with Fast & Furious......big disappointment.

Glad you enjoyed RP though........
 


Someone who agrees with me that the dj needs to go! He drove me from the pool on my last trip and that pool is normally my happy place. How old are your kids? First time we went mine were a bit too young and sheltered to enjoy universal to its fullest. We did wait a few years before we returned. Now it’s the only place we go! Once your kids are old enough to enjoy all of the rides, nothing can beat the relaxed vibe of rpr and express pass (as long as the dj isn’t playing lol).
 
Someone who agrees with me that the dj needs to go! He drove me from the pool on my last trip and that pool is normally my happy place. How old are your kids? First time we went mine were a bit too young and sheltered to enjoy universal to its fullest. We did wait a few years before we returned. Now it’s the only place we go! Once your kids are old enough to enjoy all of the rides, nothing can beat the relaxed vibe of rpr and express pass (as long as the dj isn’t playing lol).
Kids are 15 & 11. We rode just about everything - can't think of anything we didn't ride. We enjoyed it - but the simulators were too much for us.
 


You did a lot on your vacation at the darkside!

Unbelievable they did Brittney Spears music
That is so yesterday
 
Glad you had a great trip!! The Mummy is our family's favorite, too!! Bonus on light crowds on the 4th!!
 
I totally agree, I think it's worst at disney, with the pool games for the little kids, I do think last year though it wasn't quite as bad as previous years.
 

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